Vice commander brings experience and enthusiasm to the 460th Space Wing mission

Published Oct. 21, 2015
By Airman 1st Class Luke W. Nowakowski
460th Space Wing Public Affairs

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Raised in a military family, he learned to respect the military at a young age. Although his father served in the Navy, experiencing the Air Force mission growing up near Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska influenced his decision to join the branch.

"I could get a feel for the Air Force and I fell in love with it," Col. Scott Romberger, 460th Space Wing vice commander said. "I knew at that point in time, going into high school and getting ready to graduate, that I wanted to be in the Air Force."

As a boy, Romberger looked up to both his parents and believes they instilled in him the core values long before the Air Force. The military service of his father, grandfathers and uncles all influenced his path towards becoming an officer.

After high school, Romberger attended Iowa State University where he studied information systems management. With the desire to join the Air Force after college, he entered the Reserve Officers Training Corps, and upon graduation, gained his commission.

Romberger did well enough in ROTC to be accepted into the Air Force flight program. However, for better or for worse, it didn't turn out as he had planned.

"Like most young guys who are full of bravado and kind of cocky, I thought I was going to be a fighter pilot," Romberger said. "However, I had some issues during pilot training and the Air Force decided flying airplanes wasn't for me."

Although Romberger's dream of becoming a fighter pilot wasn't going to materialize, the Air Force helped him find a career that better suited his talents.

"I had a good enough record up to that point and had done well enough in flight school that the Air Force helped me find a career field that fit me," Romberger said. "That's the great thing about the Air Force... we are blessed with leaders that will take care of their people."

Besides flying, Romberger had an interest in space and, more specifically, in launching rockets. The Air Force transferred him to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, where he served as an instructor for the Space Launch Operations in the 5th Space Launch Squadron. He has been in the space mission ever since.

Romberger has had many experiences over his 21-year career. However, the experiences he values the most have been those that have given him a larger perspective of the mission and the Air Force as a whole.

"I think it's those things (outside of the space mission) that have given me a perspective and every time I come back to space, I understand the bigger picture of what the Air Force contributes to the overall fight," Romberger said.

One experience during Romberger's career that made a particularly large impression on him was when he decided to take on the responsibility of being the officer-in-charge of the base Honor Guard at one of his early duty assignments.

"It put a whole new perspective on things for me," Romberger said. "It showed me how the Air Force really takes care of its own and focuses on what is really important when it comes to taking care of people and families. It means a lot to me when we honor fallen comrades, from any branch of service, and lay them to rest with dignity, respect and the proper military honors that they earned and deserve. The Honor Guard was a very real eye-opening experience for me."

He has enjoyed every opportunity and mission he has been a part of during his career. His attitude towards his job is one of taking care of the job at hand and not to worry about where you want to be five, ten, fifteen years down the line.

"If you do the best you can and focus on the job at hand, the rest will take care of itself," Romberger said.

From working in the intelligence community to being a student at the Naval War College to working on the Joint Staff, Romberger believes everything he has done in his career has prepared him and allowed him to understand the importance of the 460th Space Wing mission here at Buckley AFB.

While at Buckley AFB, Romberger plans to help 460th SW commander, Col. John Wagner guide and lead the wing mission by bringing his experiences within the space mission to the table.

"We have to get Block 10 online and provide the capability that Block 10 is going to bring to the fight," Romberger said. "It's going to be like going from driving a 1970's Pinto to driving a 2016 Cadillac, that's the analogy. Block 10 not only consolidates units, it's going to make our missile warning system that much more robust, that much higher fidelity, and that much more supportive to global operations."

With all the mission partners and expansion going on Buckley AFB today, Romberger sees the base becoming one of the Air Force's showcase bases in the years to come.

"Buckley AFB has come a million miles from when it was an Air National Guard Base," Romberger said. "I think we can take it further. With all the mission partners, active, guard, and reserve, to include international partners, Buckley AFB represents a cross-section of the whole Department of Defense. We can really make this the premier Air Force Base."

Col. Romberger